


Uncovering

by Startswithgoodbye



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: Family Secrets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-10
Updated: 2020-05-10
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:21:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24104332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Startswithgoodbye/pseuds/Startswithgoodbye
Summary: Mal discovers a family secret while cleaning out the attic.
Kudos: 18





	Uncovering

**Author's Note:**

> I know I have multiple stories in progress right now, but this has been stuck in my head for a bit. I hope you like this oneshot!

Mal couldn’t believe that she had lost a bet to her mother. She had been so sure of the year Wicked opened, but she had been off by a couple months! She had obsessed with the world of Broadway for as long as she could remember and she was a little ashamed she didn’t know the answer.

“Of course she knew the answer; she went to the opening day.” Mal grumbled to herself as she took the stairs to the attic. She had a fleeting thought about falling through the wooden stairs, but quickly pushed the thought away with a shudder. She dragged her hand along the wall of the stairway. She hadn’t been up in the attic in years. When she was younger, she loved the mystery of the antique items from her ancestors, but after years of ghost stories and her own personality changing, she had stopped exploring. 

Maleficent wanted everything organized by each generation and everything that is broken to be thrown away. She hated clutter and once the opportunity arose, she knew what she would make Mal do for the loss of the bet. 

Mal turned the doorknob for the attic and felt around the light switch. She grimaced at the mess of unused items in every inch of the space. “This is going to take years.” She knew it wasn’t going to take that long, but couldn’t help being overdramatic. She was her mother’s daughter after all and her mother was the queen of dramatics. 

Mal sighed and walked over to the framed portraits from years ago. She snorted at the outfits of the family. The house was built in the late 1700s and had a long list of relatives since then. She wasn’t sure the stories of most of her family, but she knew a few scandals. A distant uncle had killed his wife because he was certain she was working with the foreign government, even though he had no ties to any other nation. Her aunt was an avid skydiver and while she was a self-proclaimed daredevil, she died from head trauma after falling down stairs at a park because of an untied shoe. A grandfather in some distance was a general in the war and received a medal of honor from the president. Her cousin had led the women’s suffrage movement in her town. 

Mal loved the stories from the past, but she didn’t understand keeping every momentum. Her grandfather often told her without some things, the stories would be lost, but she wasn’t one to keep anything that didn’t serve her. Maybe she was selfish, but she also didn’t want to leave a mess for someone else to clean up. 

“Mal! I’m heading out to the store. I’ll be home in a little while. Have fun!” Mal rolled her eyes at her mother’s sarcasm. She knew her mother was milking her win, but she would have her revenge in due time. 

Mal started to shift the portraits to the far wall. She didn’t exactly know what to do with everything, but making a walkway would be the smart first choice. She took her time to admire the artwork of the paintings. She dabbled in art, okay more than dabbled, but she had never commissioned a portrait. Placing the portrait against the wall, she began finding all large frames against the wall. 

“Ouch!” She screamed out in pain when she hit the ground. She was never graceful, but falling backwards over the small chest. She glared at the chest and rubbed her backside. She was never the most graceful person, but she was annoyed when her feet failed her. 

Even with a thick layer of dust surrounding the chest, she couldn’t help but think it had the most beautiful designs engraved in the wood. She blew off the dust from the top without thinking about the coughing fit that was bound to happen. She waved her hand through the air to clear the cloud of dust. She looked down at the gold engraved flower design on the top. She ran her fingers over the top delicately. 

Mal noticed a small golden plaque underneath a small keyhole. She scrunched her eyebrows together at the name Mae Rose. She vaguely hearing stories about a Mae, but she couldn’t remember exactly who she was. 

Mal shrugged and opened the chest. She gazed inside at the letters and photographs. She pulled out an old photograph of two teenagers. She smiled at the outfits worn. She moved onto a letter dated for August 19, 1925.

My Dearest Mae,

You, my love, are the best thing that has happened to me. If I could force the sun in the sky, we could spend forever together. Tomorrow I leave for the army and I’m afraid this will be the last time we will speak. It hasn’t been easy for us, our parents decided that for us, but we have survived for as long as the fates would allow. In time, maybe life will be kind to us and we will meet again. Until then, you have my heart forever.

Love forever,  
Allen

Mal felt her eyes mist over. She was a sucker for a forbidden romance. She racked her brain in any mentions of Allen, but she knew she had never heard that name before. She put down the letter beside the photograph and shifted through the rest of the letters until she found a sweater at the bottom. Even after all these years, she could still make out the pale lilac color of it. Purple was a staple color in her family’s history, even if she wasn’t sure when it came about. 

Mal pulled out the sweater and held it up in the light. It wasn’t something she would wear, she normally went for bold pieces thanks to her best friend, but she admired it all the same. She slipped it on and went to the mirror in the corner of the attic. She smiled at the way the sweater complimented her pale skin. She stuck her hands in the pockets to pull it tighter. She scrunched her eyebrows together when she felt a small paper in the left pocket. 

Mal held up a small theater ticket. She laughed at the title No, No, Nanette. She knew that things were different in the past, but the titles of things made her laugh most of the time. She let her mind wonder if Allen took Mae to the show. She wanted to believe that it was since it was dated for a couple months before the date on the letter. 

“Mal! How is it coming?” Maleficent’s voice broke through Mal’s daydream. 

“Hey, mom, who was Mae?” Mal yelled her question down the stairs. 

“My grandmother.” Maleficent yelled back. “Why are asking about her? You never listened to the stories I’ve told you about her.”

Mal rolled her eyes. She knew that she tuned out most stories, but now that she’s seen pictures and read a letter, she was intrigued. “Who was Allen?” She decided to ask instead of arguing back. 

“Allen? I don’t know an Allen?” Maleficent was walking up the stairs now. She wanted to know what nonsense her daughter was talking about. 

“Mae knew an Allen and I think they were in love.” Mal held up the letter she read earlier in proof of her discovery. 

“Let me see that.” Mal handed over the letter and watched Maleficent read the words. “My grandfather’s name wasn’t Allen. His name was John. She never mentioned anyone named Allen in anything she ever told me.” 

“The letter makes it sound as though they were kept apart. I found this ticket stub from the April before that letter.” Mal pulled out the ticket from the pocket of the sweater. “It was like a Romeo and Juliet romance.” 

“You are such a closeted romantic.” Maleficent rolled her eyes. 

Mal gasped in offense. “I am not. I just think this would be an interesting story.” She defended her interest in the story. 

“I’ll indulge you. Let’s read the letters and see what we can find. After all, there is nothing else we have to do.” Maleficent bent down at the chest and started pulling out letters. “Well are you just going to stand there or are you going to help? After all, this is your curiosity.”

Mal hurried down to the chest and helped pulling out letters one by one to read. In all, there were 45 letters dating before the one in August and one dated three years after. 

November 23, 1928  
My Dearest Mae, 

Tomorrow is your birthday and it has been more than three years since I’ve last seen you. I’m not sure it is possible to miss someone more than I miss you. I hope the years have been good to you. I saw you the last month in the store. I was in town visiting my family. You were laughing with a man that I didn’t know. I am happy to see you smiling. I don’t want you to linger on the what ifs. I wish you the world. You forever have my heart. 

In another life,  
Allen

“She met my grandfather in January of 1928 and they married later that year. She always said he was her one true love, but after these letters, I’m not so sure anymore.” Maleficent stared at the letter. 

“Maybe she wasn’t actually in love with Allen?” Mal tried to reason with her. “We don’t have the responses from her.” She pointed out. She knew her mother idolized her grandparents’ relationship.

“I don’t think someone would keep letters, pictures, and an old ticket stub from someone she wasn’t in love with.” Maleficent breathed out. “She never talked about her high school years.” She spoke slowly as if she just remembered that detail. “I’ve heard stories about her childhood and stories from after she found Grandfather, but nothing in between those. This must be why.” 

“I’m going to figure out who Allen was,” Mal made up her mind before she saw the heartbroken look on her mother’s face. She wanted to know what happened between them and their families. 

“There is no last name, how are you going to find out who he was?” Maleficent was always the realist. 

“I’ll figure it out.” Mal waved her hand. “There has to be a clue in here somewhere.” She was determined to get answers. 

“I’m going to get dinner ready.” Maleficent brushed off the dust from her pants and started to walk down the stairs. “Good luck playing detective.” 

Mal rolled her eyes. She was usually really good at finding out information with less than what she already was given. She went back to the very first letter Mae received and began skimming each of them in chronological order. She shuffled between the letters and photographs when her eyes began to be unfocused on the words. 

“A. Greenwood. 1924.” Mal read the words on the back of a photograph of a young man smiling to the camera and leaning against an old model truck.

“Allen Greenwood,” Mal nearly jumped with joy. She had a last name, an approximate age, and a date of entrance to the army. She needed to get to the public records office before they closed.

“Mom, I found a last name! I’m going to the public records office!” Mal screamed on her way out the door. She didn’t wait on a response and ran to her car. 

The drive to the office was less than five minutes, but Mal was worried about the closing time. She wasn’t sure when they stopped allowing the public use the records room but she needed to figure out the family mystery. She rushed out of the car and threw open the door to the office. 

“I’m sorry, miss, we are about to close. You can come back tomorrow for full access.” An older lady greeted Mal at the front desk. 

“No, you don’t understand. I have just uncovered a family secret and I need to know! I just need to know information on Allen Greenwood.” Mal rapidly said. She didn’t want to waste time with begging. 

“Greenwood? That’s the oldest family in Auradon.” The lady was intrigued. “Allen you say?” 

Mal nodded in relief. She had never heard of any Greenwoods, but she was relieved someone knew of the name. “Yes, Allen Greenwood. He would’ve entered the army in 1925.” She started giving out more information. 

“Oh! He earned a purple heart in 1946.” Mal’s heart deflated. 

“So he’s dead?” Mal looked at the counter in defeat. She had worked all day trying to uncover a truth, but it was wasted. 

“Oh, no, dear, he is still alive. He’s at the Auradon Nursing Home right now.” The lady looked at Mal with a smile. “They allow visitor up until 8:30 if you want to head over. Last I heard, his great-grandson sits with him in the evenings, but I’m sure he wouldn’t mind another friendly face.”

Mal thanked her and ran to her car again. She didn’t want to waste time and she had so many questions that she needed answered. 

Mal pulled into the parking lot in record time. She was sure luck was on her side when she hit 65 in a 35. 

“I’m here to see Mr. Allen Greenwood.” Mal was breathless when she got to the receptionist. 

“He is with a visitor right now.” The lady was polite, but Mal couldn’t take being told no. 

Mal was able to stop herself from rolling her eyes, but she couldn’t stop the huff. “You don’t understand. I am the great-granddaughter of an old friend of his.” 

“I’m sorry, miss, I have to check with him before I allow you to go back. Ah! Here he is coming now!” The receptionist pointed to an older man in a wheelchair being pushed by the most breathtaking guy Mal had even seen. 

“Mae?” Allen, Mal assumed, asked in disbelief. 

Mal shook her head. “No, I’m her great-granddaughter.” Mal offered a smile. “I have a couple questions if you don’t mind.” 

“Follow me this way,” Allen smiled at her. “Ben, let’s go to my room.”


End file.
